2003 Defined architecture for next generation financial service delivery to the poor

2002 Led consortium to address challenges of scale in microfinance delivery

History

In 2002 when Sevak Solutions' founders first targeted the transformative role technology could play in financial service delivery to the poor, their work focused on conceptualizing and creating some of the essential Information and Communications Technology (ICT) building blocks the microfinance industry needed to scale. The founders and their partners envisioned interoperable distribution systems and innovative agent banking models for the delivery of financial services. Several pilots of prototype technologies were field tested in Uganda. In 2005, they formalized their work and incorporated Sevak Solutions as a non-profit organization to deliver these solutions into the developing regions.

Key elements of Sevak Solutions' vision of an end-to-end financial transaction system for the poor are now being laid across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and other regions of the world - thanks to the success of the mobile financial services industry. Sevak was one of the first players to break ground in uncharted territory at that time. We seized the opportunity to explore innovative concepts, which are now proving themselves in the marketplace.

Although we believed in our vision, we have been surprised at the rapid pace at which it would be realized. In 2007, our efforts shifted from the microfinance institutions that had been the base of our initial work to technology companies on the periphery of the financial services industry - enterprises that were experimenting with new solutions to reach the poor. This work solidified in 2008, when one of Sevak Solutions' founders began an extended relationship with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to help the multi-national develop its mobile money and electronic payments advisory services business. At the same time, Sevak Solutions continued supporting other start-up ventures that were to creating innovative solutions that stimulate market growth.

From 2009 to 2011, Sevak Solutions was also deeply involved in helping a fledgling non-profit in Indonesia transform into a sustainable triple-bottom-line enterprise. During the first year, we turned the company around streamlining the business and delivering the first profit the company had experienced in several years. Sevak Solutions' engagement during the second year was intended to build internal capacity. In January 2012, we turned the organization over to the local team, which has been leading the company successfully since that time.

As the reach of mobile financial services continues to grow exponentially to serve the needs of the rural poor, Sevak Solutions will continue to provide key strategic and implementation support to this dynamic growth sector. In addition, the company will increasingly focus its efforts on opportunities among a broader base of poverty challenges that have a financial component or that will benefit from these new financial infrastructures.